CNN Money interview with Elon

[Doug_G]

I agree Jkam and I'm sure Elon is trying his best to keep it unlocked. But we're talking about the same bureaucratic clowns that are forcing noise generators on us.

I was slightly annoyed when our province banned non-hands-free cellphone use in cars, because I was always extremely careful about it. I would only take very brief calls, would never dial, and would only answer if it was safe. Plus if I had to make a turn I'd throw the phone in my lap.

Unfortunately the law seems to have deterred cell phone use mainly among responsible drivers, leaving just the idiots still doing it. It's not at all clear if the law makes us safer, especially since the true morons are texting instead of calling. At least the cops have something to charge them with.

Anyway, since the car is a wireless hot spot, the simple answer is to bring an iPad for the passenger.

Incidentally I don't think hands-free cell phones are any safer, even though they are still legal. The problem with the human brain is it has limited processing resources, and if someone is talking your brain is interpreting it even if you don't want it to. That slows down your reaction time measurably. Usually with passengers they shut up if you get into a tricky situation; people at the other end of a phone call are necessarily oblivious to your situation.

 

[AnOutsider]

Having a screen like that and locking out functions just doesn't make sense...might as well not even have the screen. So I agree that Tesla shouldn't lock out functions.

I agree Jkam and I'm sure Elon is trying his best to keep it unlocked. But we're talking about the same bureaucratic clowns that are forcing noise generators on us.

We have to remember what a litigious society we live in. It'll take one moron to sue tesla because a youtube video loaded while driving distracted them and caused an accident.

For the record, I'd love it to remain active too. Audi cars have this annoying thing where you have to stop your car to pair a phone. Really... there's no possibility someone else is in the car with me?

Incidentally I don't think hands-free cell phones are any safer, even though they are still legal. The problem with the human brain is it has limited processing resources, and if someone is talking your brain is interpreting it even if you don't want it to. That slows down your reaction time measurably. Usually with passengers they shut up if you get into a tricky situation; people at the other end of a phone call are necessarily oblivious to your situation.

100% agreed. I often find when I'm on a call I go miles and not even remember doing so. Never any issues though as I tend to instinctively slow down and cruise vs "actively" driving.

 

[TEG]

Another possibility is that they make you do an acknowledgment of personal responsibility each time you start the car.
The basic "nag screen" like "touch here to confirm that you know you are on your own if you look at this screen while driving..."
Both my Leaf and wife's Highlander Hybrid have annoying disclaimer screens you have to agree to before you can use the NAV system.

 

[PopSmith]

Another possibility is that they make you do an acknowledgment of personal responsibility each time you start the car.

They could do something like that. IANAL but those probably provide pretty good legal protection since I've seen them on several newer vehicles with NAV/"infotainment" screens.

 

[ckessel]

I was slightly annoyed when our province banned non-hands-free cellphone use in cars, because I was always extremely careful about it..

No offense, but that's like a drunk claiming they're good since they only drive drunk for short distances, on back roads, and pull over when they feel nauseous.

Everyone wants to believe they're the special exception to cell phone laws, liquor laws, seat belt laws, etc, etc. Sort the same phenomenon that no one believes they're a worse than average driver, when of course 49% of people are worse than average.

 

[Doug_G]

No offense, but that's like a drunk claiming they're good since they only drive drunk for short distances, on back roads, and pull over when they feel nauseous.

Everyone wants to believe they're the special exception to cell phone laws, liquor laws, seat belt laws, etc, etc. Sort the same phenomenon that no one believes they're a worse than average driver, when of course 49% of people are worse than average.

I did explain exactly how I was very careful about it, which you didn't bother quoting. I said, "I would only take very brief calls, would never dial, and would only answer if it was safe. Plus if I had to make a turn I'd throw the phone in my lap."

So I'm actually fairly offended by your comment, and I don't appreciate being compared to a drunk.

 

[Robert.Boston]

ckessel's point -- that driving while using a cell phone is a driving hazard comparable to driving while intoxicated -- has been scientifically validated. Naturally, excellent drivers (like, perhaps, most members of this forum) will likely have their "impaired" state above a mediocre driver's normal state, but we're still impaired.

Conclusion: When driving conditions and time on task were controlled for, the impairments
associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as
those associated with driving while drunk.

Comparison-of-CellPhone-Driver-Drunk-Driver

 

[ckessel]

I did explain exactly how I was very careful about it, which you didn't bother quoting. I said, "I would only take very brief calls, would never dial, and would only answer if it was safe. Plus if I had to make a turn I'd throw the phone in my lap."

So I'm actually fairly offended by your comment, and I don't appreciate being compared to a drunk.

Sorry, that wasn't my intent. My analogy is because the effects of being on a cell are very often said to be analogous to the reduced capacity of driving drunk. I wasn't trying to say you drive drunk.

I did read your statement, I did understand it. You very much implied you felt you were an exception to the rule because you were "very careful". When you said that, what did you mean then? Do you feel you should or should not have the law applied to you? If you were offended by my observation, I'm more than happy to know how I misinterpreted it.

I'm a careful person too, but I think laws discouraging dangerous driving habits, whether cell phone calls, texting, drunk driving, etc, are a good thing.

 

[vfx]

100 MPG on Gasoline: Could We Really? | Do the Math

This was great for us non scientists. Good quote too:

It’s the air, stupid.

The biggest disappointment, perhaps, is the typical 20% performance of our engines. Naïvely, this suggests a factor of five potential gain. But as long as we’re making fireballs in our cylinders, we’re limited by harsh thermodynamic realities.

 

[Doug_G]

I did read your statement, I did understand it. You very much implied you felt you were an exception to the rule because you were "very careful". When you said that, what did you mean then? Do you feel you should or should not have the law applied to you? If you were offended by my observation, I'm more than happy to know how I misinterpreted it.

I'm saying it's yet another restriction that might not have been necessary if people were more responsible. So I found it "slightly annoying" but unfortunately necessary. I'm sorry if I didn't express this more clearly; in fact I'm still not sure I've explained my point of view accurately.

It is the responsibility of drivers to pay attention and avoid being distracted. There are plenty of other ways for a driver to let him/herself be distracted, and they need to take this responsibility very seriously. I was once rear-ended while sitting at a red light, because the idiot driving behind me was tuning his radio. (He wasn't even given a ticket, by the way.)

The law allows hands-free cell phone use, but studies have shown that there is actually no advantage in terms of safety. In some ways I think it may be worse; you can't toss a hands free phone in your lap when you need to concentrate. But I do think the law has discouraged casual cell phone use quite a bit.

The law also covers texting, although the penalties are the same as for cell phone use. I think anyone caught texting should be banned from driving for a year.

 

[ckessel]

Doug_G, I think we're in agreement. In general, responsible people can handle things irresponsible people can't, but obviously making and enforcing laws on that are all but impossible, so we get what we get. I personally will not talk on the phone while I drive, period, for exactly the reasons you noted that hands-free isn't really helpful. I've always been curious if the same effect applies if you're talking with a passenger, but I don't know that I've heard of a study on that. It'd be unfeasible to have a law about talking to passengers though, even if it was shown to be a distraction.

Again, I didn't mean to imply you were a drunk or advocated drunk driving. My statement was only in relation to the studies Robert.Boston referenced. There might very well be situations where the behavior is reasonably safe on the scale of things (like selective cell usage or the guy driving 4 blocks at .09 DUI), but I can see why that'd be all but impossible to legislate, so we get broad brushes.

 

[vfx]

That aware driver is the same one that won't run over blind people in his silent EV.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I really, really hope that Tesla wires up the noisemaker with a nicely exposed wire running to it....

 

[efusco]

I really, really hope that Tesla wires up the noisemaker with a nicely exposed wire running to it....

It would be helpful if they made it bright orange with arrows and the words "cut here"!

 

[qwk]

It would be helpful if they made it bright orange with arrows and the words "cut here"!

All they would need to do is put that circuit on a seperate fuse, and viola you have a removable/replaceble noise maker....

 

[efusco]

All they would need to do is put that circuit on a seperate fuse, and viola you have a removable/replaceble noise maker....

Indeed...I predict a rash of prematurely blown fuses in the Model S noisemaker circuit!

 

[zack]

I think the screen should be mounted in the front window. We're all advanced enough to deal with it. I think the ability of humans to deal with more technology is being discovered to be much higher than we expected. The screen should occupy a portion of the windshield directly in front of our eyes, and there should be warning outlines drawn around every object perceived by the AI system to be a potential threat, to draw our eyes. In addition, there should be a mode whereby slamming on the brake at high speed and very forcefully triggers an AI takeover of the car which uses steering, acceleration, braking and the horn to attempt to avoid any accident.

We're ready. Look at what's happened to technology in the last 10 years.

We're ready.

Didn't anyone notice Elon saying that the new 0-60 Sport model time is 4.4 sec?

 

[Norbert]

I think the screen should be mounted in the front window.

Right. While I don't have actual experience with GPS devices mounted on the dashboard, and so can't really say how much time one needs to discern information on them, I'd hope that displaying a GPS map display next to the speedometer would not be too much of a distraction (since it would not have input, and be display-only). Or is that a known problem? BTW, I was wondering about sideways oriented cameras to look in both directions when backing out of a parking spot (at the rear) or coming out of the garage (at the front).

Didn't anyone notice Elon saying that the new 0-60 Sport model time is 4.4 sec?

No, I was still thinking in terms of 4.5 sec. BTW, does that even reflect the improved 0.22 cd value?

 

[Norbert]

100 MPG on Gasoline: Could We Really? | Do the Math

I found this interview, with Daimler's head of aerodynamics, interesting:

"A Drag Coefficient of 0.2 Represents the Sound Barrier" - ATZ online

 

[AnOutsider]

I think the screen should be mounted in the front window. We're all advanced enough to deal with it. I think the ability of humans to deal with more technology is being discovered to be much higher than we expected. The screen should occupy a portion of the windshield directly in front of our eyes, and there should be warning outlines drawn around every object perceived by the AI system to be a potential threat, to draw our eyes. In addition, there should be a mode whereby slamming on the brake at high speed and very forcefully triggers an AI takeover of the car which uses steering, acceleration, braking and the horn to attempt to avoid any accident.

We're ready. Look at what's happened to technology in the last 10 years.

We're ready.

I honestly thought you were joking at first... Technology advances, but humans remain largely the same (in fact, one can argue that our evolution stopped once we got medicines and civilization). We can only handle so much input at a given time. I'd love a heads up display in the car, but the full blown system in your face? No way. Surely SOME could handle it, but by and large it'll prove to be a distraction and in the end, a costly liability for tesla.